Growth in public agriculture research and development
(R&D) spending levels in Africa south of the Sahara (SSA) varied
widely from 2008 to 2011 (Map 1). Continentwide growth was driven by a
handful of larger countries. However, 13 of the 39 countries for which
Agricultural Science and Technology Indicators (ASTI) data are available
experienced negative annual growth in public agricultural R&D
spending during 2008/09–2011.1

Another way of comparing commitment to public agricultural
R&D investment across countries is to measure intensity (Map
2)—that is, total public agricultural R&D spending as a percentage
of agricultural output (AgGDP). Overall investment levels in most
countries are still well below the levels required to sustain
agricultural R&D needs. In 2011, SSA as a whole invested 0.51
percent of AgGDP on average. Just 10 of the 39 countries met the
investment target of one percent of AgGDP set by the African Union’s New
Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). Some of the smallest
countries in Africa, such as Lesotho, Swaziland, Burundi, Eritrea, and
Sierra Leone, have such low and declining levels of investment that the
effectiveness of their national agricultural R&D is questionable. In
addition, compared with other developing regions, agricultural R&D
is highly dependent on funding from donor organizations and development
banks such as the World Bank (Figure 1). This type of funding has been
highly volatile over time, leaving research programs vulnerable and
making long-term planning difficult.